The title says it all. Are there any companies that were either saved by the Internet, or that were put out of business because of the Internet?
Not saved, but all mail order businesses did very well due to the Internet, since, really, most Internet commerce (at least for tangible goods) is no different from mail order anyway.
Not necessarily put out of business outright, but companies like Blockbuster have been forced to scramble and change their business model to something practically unrecognizable, in order to avoid being put out of business.
Illegal internet file sharing and even legal outlets like the iTunes store have crushed the “used CD store” industry. It’s no longer a good bargain to go hunting for a $5.99 copy of a CD you only want for those two good songs, when you can get the two songs for 99 cents apiece from the comfort of your living room.
If you are including small companies, almost all storefront collectible businesses are now gone due to the internet - ebay in particular. Stamps, beanie babies, baseball cards all used to be able to support a small business, but once ebay came along, people realized that the things they thought were scarce were really abundant. Why pay $100 for a beanie babie in your local store when there are people willing to send an identical one to you in a hermetically sealed box for $40?
Actually I’m looking for any ‘specific’ company. i.e. Blockbuster.
I guess what I’m interested in is a specific example of an IT project that directly influenced revenue-generating capabilities of that organization.
I’ve always thought that if Sears’ Catalog Service had hung in there just a little longer, they could have made an easy transition to a dynamite Internet-oriented business.
I dunno, I prefer to have the entire song at my disposal for listening in an uncompressed format before purchase, and a used CD store is the only place I know of where I can listen to any section of a used CD before I buy it, in close to its actual format as aurally practicable (legalities of predownloading entire songs aside.)
I always wondered what exactly internet shopping did for UPS’ bottom line, and all those delivery companies. I know I never had anything delivered until Amazon came around. I’m sure they’re all better off these days, but I wonder how much business they get from internet ordering.
How about stores which sold computer software? Sure, you’ll see tax software being sold at Office Depot and some software being sold at Comp USA, but you don’t see the mall software store anymore at all.
The whole “free standing travel agent office” has certainly been made a thing of the past. I mean, you see a few of them, but they’re often very specialized, “Christian Singles Cruises” type deals. Now what anybody can go online and compare air fares and hotels in minutes, the traditional travel agency has gone the way of the passenger pigeon.
Wasn’t that part of the reason that FedEx re branded themselves as “FEDEX” using different colors for ground, air, etc.? I also thought that was part off the reason they bought Kinkos was the explosion of package delivery. I have no cite to back that up; it’s just something I remember.
Here in LA you still see a lot of travel agencies but like you said they are pretty specialized based on the neighborhood.
I think Microsoft stands a good chance at being hurt by the internet in the coming years. I’ve read more than a few articles about companies that have the software giant in their sights and are betting on the internet as the software distribution model of the future. I know that Google Apps is probably still far from the level that Office is at, but with lower subscription fees and the ability to roll out software updates seamlessly so that they are transparent to the end user, it holds a lot of promise, and I think Microsoft has an uphill battle in the next decade as more companies adopt this approach. Valve Software is another example of a company pioneering the concept of digital software distribution, and I doubt they’ll be the last. I think one day, any major software company that can’t push content and services via the net, rather than physical media, will shrivel up and die very quickly.
Western Union’s telegram service, which officially ceased operations in January, 2006.
Tower Records is gone. Due to some combination of P2P sharing and legit online ordering. I’m sure there are other less famous chains that have gone under as well.
Brick and mortar record stores are getting to be a critically endangered species.
Isn’t the Telex service a thing of the past as well?
A seriously significant percentage. Not as much because of volume (although that is nice) but due to the fact that internet shoppers are impatient. Overnight packages, 2 or 3 day services… all have expanded post-Amazon.
Sorry, no on both. Each color represents a separate operating company under the FedEx umbrella. FedEx was the common parlance for the company, internal and external, and it also had the benefit of diminishing the government connection since that was no longer the main source of revenue.
I’m willing to bet that Encyclopedia companies didn’t embrace the internet, or programs such as Encarta, for instance.
Travel agents and Stock Brokers were CRUSHED by the Internet.
Many moons ago I had a friend who was a travel agent. When she was forced out, she spent time/effort/money becoming a stockbroker.
She’s now a stay at mom. 
She, a few years ago, was making noise about becoming a real estate agent. I had to inform her that they would be next…{this housing downturn is unrelated…the Internet will destroy Realtors soon enough.}